As our friends from the Clash said, “Should I stay or should I go now? Should I stay or should I go now? If I go there will be trouble. And if I stay it will be double. So come on and let me know. Should I stay or should I go?

With ASI Orlando and PPAI Expo weeks and soon, days away, this seems to be the only conversation that we are having. So much up in the air, like the COVID variants that are flying high. I get to talk to a lot of you out there. Service providers, distributors and suppliers. You’ve been hustling, you’ve been waiting patiently for the return of this, you’ve Zoomed, you’ve webinared, you’ve slacked and podcasted. You’ve felt ready, excited, willing and able to put yourself out the again. Now this. 

I’ve heard you going back and forth over the last few days, some of you making bold moves and canceling travel. Some of you sticking it out and committing to going. Not easy decisions. Beyond your industry roles, you are moms, dads, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, grandmas, grandpas, neighbors and friends. This travel affects you, and this decision affects them. We know it. We see it. We feel it too.

We keep hearing how this pandemic has changed how we all work. Now we are being tested on another layer. Will this truly change the future of the trade show? Will we change the way we network and sell forever? Is it time? Maybe it is. No matter what, we are in this together. For now I’m going back to finish out this year while singing my favorite Clash song.